Gen. Clark: Well, I think it was a strategic blunder. First it wasn't connected to the war on terror, at least not to the people that struck us. Secondly, it has proved a huge recruitment tool for al-Qaeda. It's a feed lot for terrorists who want to learn how to fight Americans. We put our American soldiers at risk there. And we're producing terrorists out there. It's a training ground. And seeing American soldiers engaged there just raises the temperature and the blood pressure throughout the Islamic world. So I wish we hadn't done it. But having said that, I still believe there's an opportunity to make the best of a bad situation in Iraq. I don't want to see us come out of there if we can put a strategy together that will leave that region more peaceful and protect our interests and the interests of the other nations.

Given the president's low approval ratings in general and specifically on his handling of the war in Iraq, and factoring in the Conservative flair for sleight of hand tricks and attacks against anyone with a diverging point of view, this turn comes as no surprise. What is particularly disconcerting is the way the media has generally rolled over on this. When BushCo uses terror as justification for the war or frames the war solely in terms of terror, the press has lazily reprinted quotes without pointing out just how Iraq got that way. And Democratic leaders have not pressed forward on this. So it's great to see the General answer as he did.

He pointed out:

"First it wasn't connected to the war on terror"

"Secondly, it has proved a huge recruitment tool for al-Qaeda"

"It's a feed lot for terrorists who want to learn how to fight Americans... It's a training ground"

"But having said that, I still believe there's an opportunity to make the best of a bad situation in Iraq."

It sums up all the main points. Iraq was not originally part of the war on terror, but it has become terrorist recruiting and training grounds on a massive scale not despite Bush's policies but because of Bush's policies. And the last bit was particularly good. Bush is actually using terrorists in Iraq to help shore up support for the war in Iraq. But the reality is he should be apologizing for it. We must clean up his mess and recover the ground he surrendered in the real war against terror. As the General said, we have to make the best of a bad situation Bush created.

For some contrast, also on the panel was General Montgomery Meigs:

Mr. Russert: But those opposed to the war will say there's no comparison between World War II and Iraq; that one was a war of choice and one was a war of necessity. Those opposed to the war will say that we entered this war on the rationale of weapons of mass destruction that do not exist. Those who oppose the war will say that the number of troops that were necessary to conduct the war and the level of armament was woefully inadequate. And that it is--and that we would be greeted as liberators. None of those things have happened. And it's time to take the troops home because this was a tragic blunder.

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Where is the person in our Congress who can take the momentum caused by one fed up mom and stand up to the lies. We need a hero with the guts to put all political considerations aside and demand truth and justice, taking their place in history as the one who took the lead in restoring our faith in government.

My congressman (Raul Grijalva) has signed on. I wrote a thanks. My two senators (McCain and Kyl) have ignored every letter I've written them about this inquiry. They are as good at ignoring questions as bush is.

We should all sit back quietly and allow the fiasco to continue just because the current administration created it for us in the first place, and we should continue to allow the sacrifice of more troops just because we need to "honor" the sacrifice of others before them.

We should all sit back quietly and allow the fiasco to continue just because the current administration created it for us in the first place, and we should continue to allow the sacrifice of more troops just because we need to "honor" the sacrifice of others before them.

We lanced the boil? What does that mean? This is a non answer to a very important question. This is not a boil we are talking about. This is about people...real people. How are you going to stop the bleeding?
The insurgents hate us, the Iraqi people hate us, the terrorists hate us, the Iraqi neighbors hate us, in fact most of the world hates us. Keeping US soldiers there to stop the bullets is not the answer. Keeping US soldiers there is not winning the hearts and minds of the world community. Staying there with no plan is not going to serve the American people. What is the plan? and don't say we lance a boil as if that makes any sense to anyone anywhere. Yes, soldier we made a big mistake now we can't fix it...so you have to stay until we get some ideas about this mess... or Iraq turns into Finland. It is obvious that the people of the region want us out...there are undermining any of our military efforts. And we don't know what we are fighting for.

It's good that some authors see the public comments on their articles here. I just wish that more sites would allow direct responses to the items they publish -- especially some of the MSM online "news" sites. But I suppose they're not all so ready for the kind of public appreciation some of them might get. :^)

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